Harry Kane – TvSportOnline

Brazil legend Ronaldinho: Any team in the world would make room for Harry Kane

The Brazil great lauded the Spurs star, saying that any club in Europe would make room for him if given the chance

Tottenham star Harry Kane could walk into any team in Europe, according to Brazil great Ronaldinho.

Kane has enjoyed another prolific season at Spurs, scoring 35 goals in all competitions to mark the third campaign in four when he has netted at least 30.

The England international is linked to the likes of Real Madrid and Ronaldinho believes the 24-year-old is more than capable of playing for any of the world’s biggest clubs.

“Harry Kane has been a great player for a while now – but there is no doubt this season he has hit a new level,” he told the Mirror .

“He is now at the level where any team in the world would want him. He could walk into any team in Europe.

“Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, it doesn’t matter how strong the team. He is now one of those few players in the world that any team would have to make room for if they had the chance to sign him.”

Kane has won the past two Premier League Golden Boots and is on track to make it three this season.

While Spurs will want to keep Kane, Ronaldinho – a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year – said clubs had shown they would pay whatever was needed to sign the world’s best.

“Over the last windows we have seen that the biggest clubs in Europe have paid whatever fees needed to sign the best players in the world,” he said.

“For maybe four or five clubs, they are now at a stage where the fee is not important if they want the player, they pay what they have to.”

Tottenham sit fourth in the Premier League table but face a fight for a Champions League place next season, with Chelsea just two points back.

Spurs are still alive in Europe this term and head into their round of 16 second-leg clash with Juventus level after a 2-2 draw in Italy.

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at Wembley Stadium on September 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Source: www.goal.com

Champions League top scorers: Ronaldo out in front of Neymar & Kane

As Europe’s elite battle it out for team glory, individual players are engaged in a fight to come out on top as the best goalscorer

The 2017-18 Champions League has returned for the knock-out stage and the race to see who will finish as the tournament’s top goalscorer is back on.

Cristiano Ronaldo was last season’s top scorer with 12 goals as Real Madrid clinched their second Champions League title in a row and he narrowly edged out long-time rival Lionel Messi, who scored 11.

The likes of Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and the precocious Kylian Mbappe were also among the contenders last term.

Ronaldo currently leads the way with nine goals in six games, while Tottenham star Harry Kane is up into second place after taking his tally to seven with a goal against Juventus. In joint-third place are Paris Saint-Germain duo Neymar and Edinson Cavani, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and Sevilla’s Wissam Ben Yedder on six goals.

Interestingly, Messi is some way off the pace, scoring a relatively paltry three goals in six matches, so he will have to find his scoring boots in the knock-out stage if he is to stand a chance of taking the crown from his Real Madrid rival.

Champions League 2017-18 top goalscorers:

*Correct as of games played on February 14, 2018

Pos	Player	Club	Goals
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	11
=2	Roberto Firmino	Liverpool	7
=2	Harry Kane	Tottenham	7
=4	Neymar	PSG	6
=4	Edinson Cavani	PSG	6
=4	Wissam Ben Yedder	Sevilla	6
=4	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	6
=4	Sadio Mane	Liverpool	6
=9	Philippe Coutinho	Liverpool	5
=9	Vincent Aboubakar	Porto	5
=11	Kylian Mbappe	PSG	4
=11	Cenk Tosun	Besiktas	4
=11	Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	4
=11	Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	4
=11	Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	4
=11	Dimitri Oberlin	Basel	4
=11	Anderson Talisca	Besiktas	4
=11	Romelu Lukaku	Manchester United	4
=11	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	4

‘Tottenham star Kane was too chubby for Arsenal!’

The Gunners have been left to rue their decision to part with a striker who has gone on to star for their fierce north London rivals

Harry Kane was released by Arsenal for being “chubby”, Liam Brady has revealed, with the Gunners acknowledging that they were “wrong”.

Kane, who is now starring for north London rivals Tottenham and set to captain England at the 2018 World Cup, was on the Gunners’ books at the age of eight.

He was, however, to be shown the door, leaving him with a chip on his shoulder that made him all the more determined to prove his worth.

Two Golden Boots and more than 100 Premier League goals have seen him do just that, with a former Director of the Arsenal Youth Academy conceding that a poor judgement call was made on Kane in his younger years.

Brady told Corriere della Sera: “He was chubby, not very athletic and we were wrong.

“But even Tottenham loaned him three or four times to teams in the lower divisions. But with his determination, he is building a great career. And he deserves it.”

Kane is now considered to be not just a leading light of the English top-flight, but a striker who enjoys a standing alongside the great and good of the global game.

“That boy has a character that drives him to always improve,” added Brady.

“After [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Robert] Lewandowski there is him. The numbers say it. And he’s only 24 years old.”

Kane will be looking to cement such a standing in his next outing for Spurs, as he prepares to grace a Champions League stage once more.

Serie A giants Juventus block Tottenham’s European path in the last 16, but former Bianconeri star Brady believes Mauricio Pochettino’s side should enter the contest with no fear.

He said: “Juve are not favourites, it’s 50-50.

“Tottenham are well organised, they have a good coach and three great forwards in [Christian] Eriksen, [Dele] Alli and Kane. You need to stop them in midfield to prevent those three from hurting you.

“Does Juve’s attack convince me? Not completely, because I think we’ve already seen the best of [Gonzalo] Higuain. It’s hard for him to make the difference in Europe, he’s too static.”

Kane hits back at Van Dijk over dive accusation

The Tottenham striker went down in the late stages of the clash with Liverpool to earn a spot-kick and dismissed criticism from the defender

Harry Kane has rejected Virgil van Dijk’s claim that he dived to win a penalty in Sunday’s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were awarded two penalties at Anfield, when Kane went down in the box under a challenge from goalkeeper Loris Karius in the 87th minute and for a Van Dijk foul on Erik Lamela deep into injury time.

Although Kane missed his first attempt from the spot, his second sealed a point for his side and took his Premier League tally up to 100 goals in his career and 22 for the season.

But the 24-year-old was criticised afterwards by Reds defender Van Dijk, who insisted Kane dived to win the first penalty and that the second was undeserved, too.

The England international dismissed the notion, however, saying he was definitely fouled and assistant referee Eddie Smart was correct to flag for the trip on Lamela later on.

“Yeah. [Karius] has dived, he has got in the way and I’m a player, I’m not going to jump out of the way because it’s football,” Kane said of the first penalty incident.

“I’ve definitely felt contact and I’ve gone down. For Lamela’s one, I thought the linesman showed amazing character to give that because a lot happened for the first one about the linesman so to give that penalty was massive and it was a penalty.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions. Obviously getting the first penalty you are thinking ‘I’m going to score the winner’ and then miss it and then it goes down the other end. I’ve got the team down and get another one (penalty) and now I’ve got to step up again. I was delighted to score it and get my 100th goal and delighted to get something out of the game, which I thought we deserved.”

The striker was disappointed to see his initial attempt saved by the home side’s goalkeeper, but there was “never a doubt” that he would convert his next shot.

“The first one was essentially what I wanted to do, go down the middle,” he added. “I have a routine, I went through it and the keeper just stood there and saved it.

“Sometimes that happens so as a striker you just have to deal with it and hope the next one will come soon. Thankfully it did and I was able to put the second one away.”

After reaching another milestone, Kane is already looking to complete another century of goals as he aims to continue his development and become one of the best in the world.

“That has to be the aim – and hopefully quicker than I got to 100,” he said.

“It is nice, I am going to enjoy the moment, but let’s see how many I can get this year and go from there.

“Hopefully I can get better and better. I am 24 years old, that’s not young but it’s not old so I’ve still got a lot of learning to do. I feel I am getting more experience year by year and I feel I am getting stronger and more physical and hopefully that just continues. I will always keep trying to work hard and get better and hopefully that will be the case.

“That is what separates good players from great players: can you do it consistently year after year? Can you get better and better when people don’t expect you to? That’s what I’ve done so far and that is what I will continue to strive to do. That is always my mindset to never let up. It is a short career and I’ll try to do as much as I can in it.”

KANE SETS REAL MADRID DEMANDS

Harry Kane has conditions that must be met if Real Madrid are to have any hope of signing him, Diario Gol reports.

The Spanish outlet claims Kane would prefer to work under Mauricio Pochettino rather than Zinedine Zidane, with the latter looking likely to be replaced in the summer.

Signing Pochettino would go a long way to getting Kane on board, but it is said that the England striker has no desire to play alongside Karim Benzema or Cristiano Ronaldo, and would ask that the Spanish capital club sell those players before his arrival.

[Source: www.goal.com]